Thanksgiving is just one week away. One week! So shocking. I have a list of recipes queued up and ready for you all, all dishes that would accompany a roasted turkey beautifully. In order to get them out to you in time for your big trip to the grocery store, I am going to march them out day after day through Monday. 5 recipes in 5 days. I do believe that will be a new record here at Bella Eats!

I am starting with a Fall staple in our house. Butternut squash is the very first Autumn ingredient that I buy each September, always in anticipation of this recipe. If we were hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our house again this year I would absolutely put this creamy dish on our menu, and can't quite figure out why it has never made it there before. I think it would make a great substitute for the sweet potato casserole that typically winds up on the table. Especially because I just discovered my favorite sweet potato dish ever, and its a dessert, and I don't think I could take two sweet potato courses in one meal. Don't worry, I'll be sharing that one too.

I tried something new this time, adding mushroom broth to the risotto instead of standard vegetable. We loved the earthy depth it added, and have permanently altered our recipe. If you don't have mushroom base, vegetable or chicken broth is good too.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Lay the halves cut-side up on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Place a thin sliver of butter inside the bowl of each half, and another on the flat part of the squash. Place a small sage leaf over top of each sliver of butter. Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh pepper. Roast the squash for 20-30 minutes, until a fork can pierce the flesh with only a bit of resistance.

Remove the squash from the oven and set aside to cool until you can handle it comfortably. Use a small paring knife to peel the skin from the squash, and dice it into ½-inch chunks. Set aside.

Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and let sauté for about 3 minutes, until it is starting to soften. Add the garlic and the rest of the sage leaves and sauté for an additional 3 minutes. Add the arborio rice and stir to combine for 1 minute, until the rice starts to crackle. De-glaze the pan with the white wine, stirring to get any brown bits off of the bottom of the pan. Add the squash and stir so that it is evenly distributed with the rice.

Add broth one ladle at a time, stirring constantly so that the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan, and only adding the next ladle when the previous has been absorbed. Continue until all broth is gone and rice is creamy, about 25 minutes.

Add the remaining butter (about 1 tbsp) to the pan, along with the parmesan cheese, and stir until distributed evenly. Salt and pepper to taste.

Reader Comments (4)

I just made pumpkin risotto with sage and it was fantastic, so I'm sure this would be as well. I love the butternut squash pieces too! I realized now, being a newbie risotto cooker, that I let too much of the liquid cook off at the end. Mine was a bit thicker. It's also great to see how you photographed it. This was a hard one! Your lighting is perfect! Very soft...mine was a bit too harsh. :) Always learning! Thanks!